Following in the footsteps of the New York Times best-selling graphic novels and the record-breaking new television show, this debut novel in a trilogy of original Walking Dead books chronicles the back story of the comic book series greatest villain, The Governor.

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Publisher's Summary

Following in the footsteps of the New York Times best-selling graphic novels and the record-breaking new television show, this debut novel in a trilogy of original Walking Dead books chronicles the back story of the comic book series' greatest villain, The Governor.

In the Walking Dead universe, there is no greater villain than The Governor. The despot who runs the walled-off town of Woodbury, he has his own sick sense of justice: whether it’s forcing prisoners to battle zombies in an arena for the townspeople’s amusement, or chopping off the appendages of those who cross him. The Governor was voted “Villain of the Year” by Wizard magazine the year he debuted, and his story arc was the most controversial arc in the history of The Walking Dead comic book series. Now, for the first time, fans of The Walking Dead will discover how The Governor became the man he is, and what drove him to such extremes.

I am a fan of the series and so picking up this book was a no-brainer. (Pun intended...)

But the book takes on a "they run...they kill zombies...then they run to a different place" feel that is tedious after a while. If you're looking for backstory on "the Governor" don't expect much. Because it only comes out in the last few minutes.

Author tries to create tension but in the end we're left with one-dimensional completely predictable (although sometimes gross) character actions and motivations.

The narrator is excellent -- trying to do his best with an essentially flatlined story.

Have listened to every book in this genre on audible. No joke. This book is hard to grade. The story is good. The narration is ok. But somethings missing. Its not as good as Day by day or Morningstar. Or the Joe Ledger novels. And I mean nowhere near as good. But its alot better than The Infection, Haters, or The Undead Situation. And I mean alot better.

There are several silly technical mistakes in this book that should have been caught and corrected before it was published. Just a few examples, Ford doesn't make the S10... Try Chevy... Glock Handguns don't have a manual safety. The safety is incorporated into the trigger. Oh, and a mistake made by so many writers... CORDITE... Bullets haven't contained Cordite as a propellant since 1945. It's production stopped at the end of WWII, yet writers continue to refer to the air hanging heavy with the smell of Cordite. Unless your shooters are using Vintage WWII bullets, it's not Cordite they are smelling :-)

Ok bare with me here. I am one of those HUGE Walking Dead fans. You know the ones who have each single issue, variant, and limited edition omnibus. The fan who counts down the days until the monthly comes out, just so I can DOWNLOAD it right away to get my “fix,” and later buy the issues when time suffices. Well, needless to say, if you are like me (and you probably are if you’re reading this) or even just a casual fan of the comic of TV show, you probably are going to be looking to check out Rise of the Governor. First off, if you’re just a TV fan, just stay away period. This is not worth your time, you won’t know how this pertains to TWD, and will get pretty bored with it. There is better stuff out there. Now, being the fan that I am, I have been trying to read my hardcover (signed by Kirkman/Bonasinga at NYCC….sigh) for quite some time, but being a high school teacher with zero free time, I turned to audio-book instead. This book is ULTRA-descriptive, to the point where it is a glaring flaw. Think of THIS review that your fine self is reading, and I just NOW began talking about the book! You’re probably saying “I don’t care about your fan-dom, your profession, or frankly you cyber man….just talk about the book!” Yes, all that stuff was purposefully included to make my point, but you need to know the gravity of the situation. “The zombie was gnashing like a BLANK which was BLANK. The gnashing was so BLANK that it reminded Brian of a BLANK. ……“ It’s difficult to express how much this book suffers from this in words. Unfortunately, the ending was predictable after the first 25% of the book, which wasn’t all that jarring, yet still the biggest highlight of this book. Not that much happened looking back, just descriptions of EVERYTHING including the word “arterial” maybe 35 times. Yes TWD is a slow burn, but still there’s supposed to be that “OH S***” moment, which sadly, never came. The narrarator’s voices were okay at best, but during heated conversations, they all sounded too similar. My biggest quam will be yours too if you’re a fan of the comics. Only the last 10% of the book is in Woodbury. So if you were expecting to see crazy “Governor stuff” it totally lacked. They could have added maybe 3 more chapters and made it 100% more satisfying. Anyhow, what can I say, it was TWD….in book form…so it still gets 3 stars, but apparently a Michonne book is next in the trilogy, I just hope it is a bit more memorable.

What did you like best about The Walking Dead: Rise of The Governor? What did you like least?

I felt the writing to be pretentious. The story was okay…

What was most disappointing about Robert Kirkman and Jay Bonansinga ’s story?

As an avid Walking Dead fan I felt a huge disconnect with this book. I felt that the writers there in a few $10.00 words to make them selves seem smarter and felt the story to be a bit unbelievable.

Could you see The Walking Dead: Rise of The Governor being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

No I don't, However I do hope that after reading it I will get a better sense of “The Governor” when he is introduced in Season three of the series. If not then I fear this purchase would have been a total waste.

Any additional comments?

I felt that this book could have been a bit better. I found myself having to force myself to listen to the story just to finish the book.

Would you listen to The Walking Dead: Rise of The Governor again? Why?

I may listen again, I don't usually listen or read books twice, I feel I got everything out of this I needed to. The story was non stop, A thriller for sure. The reason I may listen again is because of the big twist ( which I don't want to give away) so I observe the chapters before it for clues or hint, also I have not read all of the comics, so I may read it again after I do that. I feel like it did not matter much that I had only read a few of the comic books. Before going into this novel, I knew nothing of the Governor. I think the timing of this novels release was great, it gave us walking dead fans something to do while waiting for the next season.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Walking Dead: Rise of The Governor?

There were many memorable moments. The ending was for sure the best, but it left me wanting much more, so I hope they write another novel.

The description of the zombies, biters, walkers,whatever you call them was astounding. I have no fear of the living dead, but at certain moments I was a bit freaked out.

What about Fred Berman’s performance did you like?

Fred Berman gave a brilliant performance. I cannot say enough great things. Every character had a very distinct voice, never had any problem knowing who was narrating. He even did an awesome job with penny's voice, and the other females in the novel. He made this story even more memorable.

I have never written a review before for audible book’s although I do love a good zombie book none that I have downloaded have deserved my review don’t get me wrong I do like my Massive zombie library of over 15 zombie books not including Steven kind books est. But this book I will take some time to say. Greatest zombie book so far…….also GREATEST AND I DO MEAN GREATEST NARRATION OF THEM ALL>………….Hold on tight this book has it all I would highly recommend this book to any die hard or avid horror reader.

I am an avid fan of zombie fiction and this was a huge surprise for me. Fantastic story and one of the best performances from a narrator that I have ever heard - I was literally brought to tears at one point. As I said this is one of the best of the genre. Wow - well done.

For anyone who has enjoyed the Walking Dead graphic novels or TV series - or who just loves a good Zombie Apocolypse - this book is great. It's a good story with great descriptions and a real human factor.

The authors also did a superb job of depicting what it might take to make a pretty normal person become truly ruthless and to embrace evil.

If you've read the graphic novels, though, the ending just might blow your mind. I know it did mine.

Where does The Walking Dead: Rise of The Governor rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I truly loved this book. I don't care what anyone else says.I was interested in the story about this character. I was surprised how it ended. Way different then I expected. This book kept my interest just as well as a book I would read myself. I was thrilled with the narrator chosen for this book. His version of the voices were great and I don't think it would have come across this way if it was someone else. Fred is perfect for this story. And because of this I would truly want to listen to more books that he has read.

What other book might you compare The Walking Dead: Rise of The Governor to and why?

I've been on the zombie kicked for many years now. Way before "The Walking Dead" TV show came out. I'm a fan of the TWD comics that started off the TV show. Because of this I could say I would compare this book to many of the other zombie books I've read. But because of Fred it was so great to listen to and I wanted to keep going and not "put it down".

Which scene was your favorite?

All of the book was my fav but the best was the end (which I won't give out for those who've not read it yet) when Brian introduced himself.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

YES...it was so difficult to stop ready when I was sleepy or have something to do..it took me a week to listen to it for these reasons when it should have taken one day.

Any additional comments?

I became a member of Audible because I'm disabled now and sitting around all the time so i'm always reading and it's nice to just liten once in awhile...I've always reading the descriptions and trying to find great books to listen too. I am on a big zombie kick right now so that's how I roll at the minute...

Loved this story. A little twist near the end really finished it off nicely for me.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Mrs. Marixsa Watson

RUGBY, United Kingdom

9/5/12

Overall

"A must read or listen!"

Loved Fred Berman's narration and the book itself is great. I can not wait for the 2nd book.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Poochie Face

4/28/15

Overall

Performance

Story

"Awesome"

A fantastic accompaniment to the TV series. I can't wait to here the next instalment. Brains....want more..... Brains!! 5 stars.

0 of 0 people found this review helpful

Kawie1

Longford, Ireland

10/22/14

Overall

Performance

Story

"Rise of a Legend"

The Rise of the Govenor follows Phillip Blake, his daughter Penny and his brother Brian in the days and weeks following the zombie apocalypse. In typical Kirkman fashion though the story focus is less on the shambling dead but more on the people trying to survive and the often horrible things they are forced to do and live through. Now anyone who had read any of the comics or watched the show will feel like they have a fairly firm grip on who the Governor is but trust me,Kirkman still manages to squeeze a few shocks and surprises into the tale.

0 of 0 people found this review helpful

ian

10/6/14

Overall

Performance

Story

"Must read"

Where does The Walking Dead: Rise of The Governor rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This is one of my top reads, the narrator is awesome and really brings the characters alive

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Walking Dead: Rise of The Governor?

No spoilers the whole thing take your imagination and puts it on a tread mill

Have you listened to any of Fred Berman’s other performances? How does this one compare?

first one

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

no i cant, i listen whilst i work so its not possible

Any additional comments?

buy it i got the whole series after listening to this

0 of 0 people found this review helpful

Ben

PONTEFRACT, United Kingdom

8/19/13

Overall

Performance

Story

"Fantastic book, performed really well, recommended"

Would you consider the audio edition of The Walking Dead: Rise of The Governor to be better than the print version?

I havent read the print version but the performance for me really added to the story so I would expect the audio edition to be better than the print version.

What did you like best about this story?

Some pretty dark areas are covered within the story which were really insightful and added a great deal to the background of the walking dead series.

Which scene did you most enjoy?

When the group were in Atlanta, I wont go into more detail as to avoid spoilers .

0 of 0 people found this review helpful

darren

leeds, United Kingdom

7/15/13

Overall

Performance

Story

"Amazing!"

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Good story. Clever twists. Well written and extremely well performed. One of the best Audibles i have listened to. Highly recommend

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Walking Dead: Rise of The Governor?

Brian being reborn

What about Fred Berman’s performance did you like?

Amazing. It wasnt read, it was acted

0 of 0 people found this review helpful

Luke

Sandbach, United Kingdom

4/7/13

Overall

"captivating stuff"

I love the walking dead its always so well written and full of twists and turns. This book is no different! I expected it to be quite predictable with it being a prequel to the tv series but i couldn't have been more wrong. The most amazing thing that the writer does is to make you feel sorry for a the governer despite him doing some of the most vile things imaginable. Totally amazing can't wait to read the next one.

0 of 0 people found this review helpful

Edward

St Peters, Australia

9/3/12

Overall

"WOW"

Brilliant. Just brilliant. I'm a huge fan of the comic series and this audiobook just makes me want more. This book is grotesque, heart wrenching, brutal and completely relentless without a single dull moment. AMAZINGLY performed by Fred Berman. Can't wait for more novels from this series!

0 of 0 people found this review helpful

Sion

New Barnet, United Kingdom

1/19/12

Overall

"Walking Dead"

I found this book very enjoyable and there is a good story with lots of action. Hope there is more to come in the series from the author.

Definitely worth a listen if your a fan of the genre.

0 of 0 people found this review helpful

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